


Season of Chimera

by AngelOfSin100



Series: Chronologies of the House Aithne [3]
Category: Age of Conan (Video Games), Conan - Robert E. Howard, Conan the Barbarian & Related Fandoms, Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Aqulonia, Cimmeria, Clan Fearghal, Clan Koragg, Dark, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fantasy, Flashbacks, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Halls of Crom, Hatred, Hyboria, Khemi, Misunderstandings, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Old Tarantia, Pain, Plot, Secrets, SetMosis, Slow Burn, Stygia, Torture, Trauma, War, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 12:54:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20309839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelOfSin100/pseuds/AngelOfSin100
Summary: Ice, snow, and rock finally gave in and sided, tumbled alongside the cave wall. The sound roared like a trapped beast. When the snow settled in the cave cathedral, a large rock had sided loose and was imbedded deep into the snow a few meters from the wall. It stood but 30 meters high, swaying back and forth until it reached its equilibrium and became still.A red light flickered in the darkness. Something was alive... and by each moment the light got stronger. From within its core a pulse emerged and the nearby snow moved slightly.Nearby a snarl was heard in the deep woodlands...Finally they were together again.Something has been set free from its bounds in the Mountains, something that should have been kept at peace.





	1. Ygliss

**Author's Note:**

> This is the tales of many, none forgotten. Balorac the jackal, Lady Elyssa of the House of Aithne, Ashlin the smith, Fihn, Seichan, Shiva, Darshan, Tielan, Manikan the Eagle and many more. It is you who have made this story what is is. 
> 
> It's a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this wonderful plot slithering it's way so vibrantly through the hyborian landscape like a viper in the grass.
> 
> I started this thread on the old AOC forum on the 4th January 2011, 20:05 (5,171)
> 
> OOC: Like the other stories I have posted here this one have been moved (reposted) from the European AOC forums. Since whole threads could not be moved, I took the liberty to Copy +Paste comments and stories from friends as well.  
Dear Balorac, your comment was so good that I had to steal it. *hugs*

The heat lingered like a wet cloth, even though the sun had set a good hour earlier. Elyssa leaned on the wall behind her, the stones still warm from the sun. She could hear the faint music coming from inside the Serpent Heads Inn. The water in front of her glittered in the moonlight and she closed her eyes keeping that image in her head.  
  
He had sought her out and asked her to go north, back to her old ties…memories she has tried to bury deep inside her. _I never be ready_, she thought.  
  
Rumours were going round about a harsh cold that was tormenting the North. Making every hermit coming down from the mountains seeking shelter in more populated areas. She believed that everything is connected, like silver strings moving through the earth and skies. There was no coincidence that he asked her to go north. If the balance had shifted to one side... There will be consequences... Something was hiding in the cold North, something every bit as terrible as Yig.  
  
_Time to go back to Cimmera. I’m sure choosing my timing._  
  
  
  
  
  
**_Ygliss has been released from limbo and this is sending a lot of tremors in the 'force'. In the far north something snarls in the icy blizzard and in the depths of Aquilonia a tremor can be felt._**


	2. Tales from the Eiglophian Mountains

One tale the Settlement of Dinog often tell in dark winter nights, were the tale of Gorm Heimdul, Chieftain of Diong and a young warrior called Rann.  
  
There were several murders during the time that followed the darkest months of the year, one night a female victim was sacrificed close to the village walls. The remains of the poor girl´s body were found shattered over the landscape. The cultist had not only been able to scarify the girl close to her home, but managed to get away without being seen. After that cruelly defiant gesture, the cult committed several murders in broad daylight. The native inhabitants of the region lost all confidence in the clan and their ability to stop the slashing’s and killings of the powerful Stalker men. There were talk about that the cultists might truly have the ability to shapeshift into humanoid dragons and to fade unseen into the shadows. Some whispered that the chieftain himself was too close to the cult, maybe in fact a member himself.  
  
The villagers were becoming unnerved. They were trying to stop an enemy who was essentially invisible. They struck without warning after preselecting their victims by a process that evaded all attempts to define it. There was no way to determine who the cult's next victims would be or to guess where they might strike.  
  
One summer night a young man called Rann was awakened by the warning growl from his dog. When he rose to investigate, a four-foot-long, barbed arrow whistled by his head, narrowly missing him and embedding itself in the wall. The next morning by the camp fire, he learned that two of his friends had also barely escaped death that previous night.  
  
Rann decided to attempt to set a trap. On the path to a village where several slayings had already taken place, he sent two of his best men, posing as easy targets. The two walked side by side toward the village while Rann and a dozen other warriors concealed themselves in the bushes and snow at the side of the path.  
  
Suddenly, issuing the blood-curdling shriek of an attacking dragon-like humanoid, a tall woman in dragon robes charged headlong at the two men, swinging a large club. The young man struggled with the leopard man, but before Rann and the other men could arrive on the scene, the cultist had smashed in the boy's skull with the club and fled into the bushes.  
  
Rann had lost one of his best warriors, but the knife that the young man still held in his hand was covered in blood. They would now be able to search for a woman with a severe knife wound.  
  
Rann was about to have some men take the bodies of the two men to the burial grounds when he had a sudden flash of intuition that the cultist woman might return to the scene of the slaughter. While the others searched the neighboring villages, Rann hid himself behind some bushes overlooking the trail.  
  
When the moon was high on the night sky, just as Rann was beginning to think about returning to the village, a nightmarish figure crawling on all fours emerged from the snow, pounced on the young boy's corpses, and began clawing at their faces. But rather than claws raking the body, Rann caught the glint of a two-pronged steel claw in the moonlight. The killer had returned to complete the cult ritual of sacrifice. Rann advanced on the Stalker woman, and the robed murderer snarled at him as if she were truly a big reptile. When she came at him with the two-pronged claw, Rann imbued his sword into her chest.  
  
With Rann's act of courage, the natives of the region had been provided with proof that it was possible to fight against the cultists. With their newfound courage they faced the chieftain of Diong, whom they suspected had a larger part in why the cult had such a hold in the vicinity. When they raided the chieftain’s house, Ranns men found a dragon mask, a dragon-skin robe, and a steel claw.  
  
During the chieftains captivity the cultists increased their slaughter and among some of the victims were the wife and daughter of Gorm Heimdul, the imprisoned chieftain. The desperate village inhabitants had hoped that the sight of the mutilated bodies of his family would anger Gorm Heimdul into betraying the cult members who had so obviously turned on him, but the shock proved too much for the chief. When he saw the bloodied corpses of his wife and daughter and realized how viciously his fellow men had betrayed him, he collapsed and died of heart failure.


	3. The Dagger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Tielan. <3   
(2013-05-12)

**Some weeks ago.....**

  
Tielan sat alone upstairs in the trading post of Summeria's Hold, home of the Hand of Ibis and temporary shelter for one or two of her people and some of Kathal Chieftain's kinsmen too.

She was turning the object in her hand over and over thoughtfully, then stopping occasionally to stare intently at it again.  
The darkly jewelled dagger seemed to move in her hand as she looked at it yet she could feel no movement. Phurbas of Dark Wings, Teleia had called it in her notes.  
Shivering involuntary, only partly from the cold, she lay the dagger back on the folded red fabric in the box, closed the lid and continued to read the notes she'd found with it from Teleia.

Unfamiliar names and locations jumped from the pages in a hand she recognised as Telia's own. Sorcerors, a demon of chaos and darkness, rituals, and a hidden key to help bring the demon back. Something Balorac wanted to do really badly and should be stopped from doing at all costs. And what had happened to the rings she'd copied that day in Akhet? Had Teleia passed them on to anyone? There was no mention in her notes. It made no sense.

She sighed heavily, placed the notes carefully back in the box alongside the mysterious dagger, and leaned her head against the wall. Why did Teleia have to leave her now? and why had she left the dagger with her?  
Nothing she could do about it while the frozen mountains held her in their grip. She frowned and rubbed her forehead thoughtfully. She'd have passed the problem to her Elders before, but now...........

.....but now, she had more pressing worries. Find Somewhere to live first,she thought to herself. Food to hunt, a place to sleep. She pulled the pelts around her and tried to rest. Kathal and Cedric would be back in the morning, hopefully, with news of the expedition. Maybe they'd know what to do.

  
  
**Days ago...**

  
Something Cedric said in the tavern had been niggling at the back of her mind for days now. That there might be more to the bad weather than just - bad weather.  
Checking she was alone in the Feast Hall, she brought the box down from the sleeping area above and placed it on the table, lifting the lid slowly and peeking inside. It was still there. Deep down she knew it would be. Nestling in the folds of Teleia's red cloak, blinking challengingly at her. She took the notes and reached in to lift the dagger from it's hiding place but pulled her hand away suddenly and closed the lid again firmly.  
She needed to talk to somebody - but who would understand?

She'd heard from Cedric that the Lady Elyssa was back in Cimmeria and had stopped off in Conarch.

She wrote a brief note for her and sealed it carefully in the box along with Teleia's own research and the dagger, handing it to the rider and sending him to Conarch in the hope of finding her still there.

_"Lady Elyssa,_  
This dagger was left with me for safekeeping by Teleia before she returned to her homeland. I think you will know better than I what significance it holds, and what needs to be done with it. I do not want this object to fall into the hands of the Vanir and I believe it will be safer with you.

Be safe in your travels,  
Tielan"

Hoping she'd done the right thing, she watched the rider till he disappeared, then turned and headed back into the valley.


	4. Awakening

Ice, snow, and rock finally gave in and sided, tumbled alongside the cave wall. The sound roared like a trapped beast. When the snow settled in the cave cathedral, a large rock had sided loose and was imbedded deep into the snow a few meters from the wall. It stood but 30 meters high, swaying back and forth until it reached its equilibrium and became still.  
  
A red light flickered in the darkness. Something was alive... and by each moment the light got stronger. From within its core a pulse emerged and the nearby snow moved slightly.  
  
Nearby a snarl was heard in the deep woodlands...Finally they were together again.  
  
  
_Something has been set free from its bounds in the Mountains, something that should have been kept at peace. _


	5. The Green Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Balorac <3  
(2013-05-13)

The man who calls himself Darshan Singh looks at the small parchment laid out in front of him.  
  
The note is covered with minute glyphs.  
  
The writing is in a Khorajan language that is spoken by only a handful of people, the survivors of a relentless and seemingly senseless manhunt that happened ten years before, and resulted in the demise of peaceful people of shepherds.  
  
But the language in those glyphs is only revealed if one were to use a certain ring of translation that only the operatives of the secretive Eye of Blackthorn carry.  
  
Unless you are Darshan Singh and you can read what is written on the parchment as if it is your mother's tongue.  
  
And the writing doesn't leave any mysteries either: Rahul is due back in Akhet a day from now, on a Khitan ship called the Green Dragon.  
  
Seemingly innocent words that entice the peaceful and eloquent Darshan Singh to utter the worst profanity in many years.  
  
_Accursed fate!_  
  
What has that Turani fool done now...


	6. The disturber of His peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Balorac <3  
(2013-06-22)

A man walks into the cool halls of the inner sanctum of the Cult of Set, in Khemi proper. The rustling of his fine cotton robes is the only sound, as the soles of his slippers are custom made to eliminate any sound while walking.  
  
The other man looks up from his desk and smirks.  
  
"Set's Blessings, my brother. What brings you here on this early hour?  
Will you not be late for your morning rituals, hmm?"  
  
The 'brother' answers the question by dropping a papyrus scroll on the desk, adding a look of urgency in lieu of words.  
  
"And what am I supposed to be looking at?"  
  
The other man offers in a soft voice. "Complaints. Lots of complaints."  
  
The _ast priest _behind the desk, dressed in the official robes of someone in the higher echelons of the Administration of Set, goes through the list and snorts.  
  
"And who might be this disturber of His peace that has gotten the faithful of Akhet district all riled up?"  
  
The man with the soft voice smiles thinly.  
  
"One of yours. Well, he used to be one of yours. His name is Settrah."  
  
The face of the ast priest hardens.  
  
"And what has my 'prodigy' been up to this time? Don't tell me he burned another infidel in the market square?"  
  
The man with the soft voice shakes his head.  
  
"Nothing like that... yet. But he went from preaching the gospel of Yig in the streets, to going into the taverns and threatens the citizens with hell and damnation while they are enjoying a quite drink or a courtesan."  
  
The ast priest shrugs.  
  
"It is good that some of them sit less comfortably in the soft pillows, while shirking their responsibilities to Set and His administration."  
  
"If the faithful are unhappy, your proposed rise in levies and taxes will meet opposition."  
  
The ast priest rolls his eyes.  
  
"Haven't we been generous? Opening up the trade through Akhet even more to accommodate the increasingly extravagant needs of the 'faithful'? I think the proposed tax increases are very justified."  
  
"Be that as it may, we have to get him off the streets, brother. How long before he goes into a temple and goes iconoclast on us?"  
  
The ast priest shakes his head and pulls out a scroll from scroll shelf behind his desk. He unrolls it and goes through the text with a long nail of his index finger, until he reaches a passage he is looking for.  
  
Deliberately slowly he turns the page to face the man with voice, and says:  
"Read it and weep. Settrah cannot be touched, until he truly goes too far."  
  
The soft voiced man looks from the page to the ast priest with an incredulous face.  
  
"So... they let him spout his blasphemous nonsense about the Set's Righteous Terror, just because..."  
  
He looks at the page again as if trying in vain to make the words change meaning.  
  
"...because they do not know if he is truly the voice of Yig? They are actually afraid that he is what he says he is? Are they insane?"  
  
It is the ast priest's turn to smirk.  
  
"I will overhear that comment you just made, unless you feel it is your time to meet Set's judgement.  
Somebody high up made the decision and that should be enough for you.  
  
The gospel of Yig is actually based on the oldest scriptures and just because we choose to disregard them in our daily rituals does not mean they are not valid or even blasphemy.  
  
My suggestion to you is to have the guards 'escort' him to the deep desert, where he gets his 'Truth' and hope that he will not make it back alive. Although I doubt we should be so lucky..."


	7. Just another day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little update on what's brewing up in the northern mountains. :)
> 
> The Settlement of Dinog in the Eiglophian mountains have experienced an increase in trade. Which have lead to making the daily life easier.
> 
> But life is not all good...
> 
> People whispers about seeing lights and fires near a cave deep in the mountain where an old cult once reside. A cult that was deep infested in their own tribe. The elder talks about a time when nobody was safe, not even within the settlements walls.
> 
> Have they come back... How can we protect ourselves?

There was a trail of blood leading into the cave. Wet paw marks with splashes of purple. Some marks were older, but it was difficult to distinguish in the beaten tracks. The whole area felt wrong and Elyssa kept looking over her shoulder. She kneeled and rubbed the blood between her fingers. It had not yet coagulated. A snarl from deep inside the cave sent shivers down her spine, but yet she drew her sword and continued slowly deeper into the darkness of the cave.  
  
She kept close to the wall and from what she could guess, the cave turned slightly to her right. She heard something big move a bit further inside the cave and unexpectedly an adolescent wolf bolted past her out of the cavern.  
  
“Whooooaa.. easy there..” Elyssa stepped as close to the wall as possible, keeping her eyes on the wolf and back again into the darkness. The young wolf ran away and started to howl a distance from the mouth of the cave.  
  
“Agrua Gaharah Dam Kana!” The cry came from deeper inside the cave.  
  
Here we goes, was all she had the time to think before another voice answered the ancient growl. “Agru Gaha Da Kana to you too!”  
  
“What is this... !!” Elyssa emerged behind two young girls with a drawn sword. The cave had turned to the left and was sparsely lit by two torches that the two girls were carrying. She looked from one girl to the other. One of the girls began wavering. “I still think its best we leave...”  
  
Some feet away from the three of them lay what seemed to be a man with a goat like mask. A gargantuan wolf like shadow hovered over him and seemed to tear at the goat's head of the lying man. The shadow was dark and vaguely wolf like, and seemed to fill half of the cavern.  
  
The other girl, who seemed to be the leader of the two, finally got her tongue back. “Oh shite … Hey lady. We don't want any trouble. We just stumbled across this thing. We got nothing to do with this!”  
  
The first girl nodded enthusiastically. “What she said...”  
  
The man bellowed and howled, and then bleated like a goat, as he was being tossed into the ear like a meat puppet by the snarling shadow beast. The scene filled them with an irrational fear, tumbled down over them. Elyssa couldn’t help feeling it was something far too familiar to that fear.  
  
“This is not working.. “ Elyssa stepped in between the two girls and closer to the man deep inside. “You two might help to get that abomination out of here. ?” She looked questionably from one girl to the other.  
  
“Ehh..”  
  
“I don't want nothing to do with this ****ing thing. Magic isn’t' my thing lady. He's all yours.”  
  
The beasts yanked and tear at the man's goat's head, and he seemed to exude the same sort of black vapour that the beast is apparently made off.  
  
“So be it them...“ Elyssa muttered and moved forward. Behind her she heard the running footsteps of the two girls bolting out of the cave.  
  
The beast’s growl seemed to echo to all sides of the cavern, but somehow the sound seemed to take a distinct human aspect.  
  
“This ends here... “Elyssa took a deep breath and rushed forward with her sword high and attacked the beast. The black dark vapour engulfed her completely.

Her first swing hit nothing but air so she pressed forward. IT was there somewhere and she struck at the dark vapor until suddenly she hit flesh. The familiar recoil though her arms and up her shoulder made her wince. She turned the blade before she pulled it out, taking one step back with her sword high in a defensive position. For a moment she was completely surrounded by darkness, feeling hot, sticky blood dripping over the blade onto her hand.  
  
Inside the darkness she heard a hoarse voice muttering in Cimmerian with distinct Nemedian accent. “Crom's balls and Mitra's cock, what the...”  
  
Instinctively she followed up her first hit with a one hand blow upwards trying to hitting IT bluntly again. With her other hand, she reached out trying to grab what was in front of her. She shivered from the cold and heat.  
  
And as the dark vapors disappeared she saw the body of a man falling backwards. When he hit the ground the dark thing has completely disappeared, and a mask made out of a real (incredibly large) goats head slide off his face, revealing...  
  
Elyssa pushed forward, moving in closer to the man and lifted her sword for a killing blow. She was halfway through her swing when she recognized him and the blow aimed to his torso reduced in strength. He moaned when her broadside hit him. She saw the vaguely familiar face of a man she once knew covered in rotting goat's meat, dark, syrup blood and with a horrible dark tattoo over his face. And thanks to her sword with a stab wound in his abdomen.  
  
He croaked and groaned in anguish. “Kill me now and get it over with, damn you...! “ He looked at her with eyes devoid of recognition.  
  
She sighed and wiped of her sword before she sheeted it. The cloth turned crimson red of all the blood and feel heavily to the ground when Elyssa dropped it. “Stupid males...” She muttered and pulled down her hood. _What in earth is he doing here? Him of all people. I thought I had left that life behind me…._ She was soon by the man’s side, squatting down beside him and examined his wounds, turning him roughly a bit on his side.  
  
He put his hand on the wound in his abdomen and winced. “You stab like a girl...”  
  
“Don’t tempt me mister...” She pushed his hands away, quite forcefully.  
  
“Hrmpf... are you going to torture me now, woman?” He tried to look defiantly, but just looked sad.  
  
“I am going to die anyway, just leave me...”  
  
“Shut up with the self-loathing... It does not suit you.”  
  
“That voice... I know that voice...” He rubbed a hand through his face. “Gods, Elyssa, is that you? You shouldn't see me like this...”  
  
Elyssa pressed one hand at his abdomen and loosens a small bag with the other. “I said shut up!!!!!!!”  
  
He shook his head not seemingly taking her advice. She in turn sounded irritated and moved on with taking care of his wound. With fast hands she stitched him up, biting the thread of when she was done and pressed a piece of cloth onto the wound, filled with something greenish.  
  
Around she could see the mutilated corpses of numerous Vanir lying around. “Men... Only troubles... Mom always said that... never a quiet time... always up to something stupid.”  
  
He howled in pain. “Something stupid?!? You are the one that gutted me, if I recall correctly.”  
  
Elyssa was muttering while taking care of him. Some words he can’t even make out, maybe all for the best. “Shout all you want. This time you deserve it.” She looked at the nearest corpse and back at him with a meaningful glimpse in her eye. One even he could not misinterpret.  
  
“Yeah, I deserve it....”  
  
“Yes you do.. And now let me do what I can for you…”  
  
Silent steps get closer in the darkness. A slim girl sneaked closer, intrigued by the voices he faintly heard in the depths of the cave.  
  
“What is that thing anyway?” Elyssa picked up a piece of the broken mask. It is moist in her hand and it feels like she is holding a ribcage.  
  
“Broken mask is manky goats head, cut to fit like a mask; it smells like hell.”  
  
The girl sneaked closer and hid behind the last corner to listen in the darkness.  
  
“That?” he looked at the goat's head, croaked and fell back, trembling, until he quiet down, out cold. Suddenly he pivoted back up and started to scream.  
  
Elyssa hit him in the head out of pure reflex.  
The girl in the darkness jumped back a bit and pressed herself against the wall.  
  
“Oh, darn..”  
  
“Agrua Gaharah Dam...” Baloracs jaw slammed back and with a gurgling sound he is out cold again.  
  
“Damn men... Never gives you a quiet time.” Elyssa looked down at the unconscious man, rolled her eyes and finished to dress his wounds.  
  
The girl took one last peek around the corner before she sneaked back out of the cave. Whatever it was there in the darkness, which ever it was, she decided to leave it undisturbed. 


	8. Just another day Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little update on what's brewing up in the northern mountains. :)
> 
> The Settlement of Dinog in the Eiglophian mountains have experienced an increase in trade. Which have lead to making the daily life easier.
> 
> But life is not all good...
> 
> People whispers about seeing lights and fires near a cave deep in the mountain where an old cult once reside. A cult that was deep infested in their own tribe. The elder talks about a time when nobody was safe, not even within the settlements walls.
> 
> Have they come back... How can we protect ourselves?

The water skin in her right hand was heavy yet she walked lightly. When the light in the cave dimmed she reached out to the wall, following its curves until she reached her small camp. The fire was almost out and as a small stone hit the cave floor, making a tiny noise, Elyssa looked behind her.  
  
The man lying on his back next to the fire muttered in his sleep, sometimes growling a little. _Why would the Jackal come here? Why of all people would she stumble onto him in a cave close to the Eiglophians?_ Elyssa sat down and splashed some cold mountain water in face. He muttered something and tried to swat the cold drops away in his sleep. She smiled at him and splashed some more water in his face, not so gently this time. He swallowed a mouthful and started to cough.  
  
“W-whoa?”  
  
“Awake? ... Good.”  
  
Balorac groaned. “That depends on what you call good... but it is nice to see you, Elyssa.”  
  
She muttered something in a foreign language and leaned a bit backwards.  
  
“You are a sight for sore eyes, but then again you always were a stunner. “ He tried to smile. “And I... I think I sacrificed what I had left of my looks on some altar... Now I just have my charm...” He started to laugh but it turned to whines in pain. “I better not laugh too much. It is ok, as long as I don't do that.” He looked down at his chest and found it neatly tied with linen and the pain is soothed by the paste she has put on the wound earlier.  
  
Elyssa nodded and stared a bit at him. Her eyes were not unfriendly... Just very cautious. “Whatever foul things have you been up to lately, my friend?” She picked up a piece of the mask he had worn.  
  
“I'll be damned if I knew that to the fullest extent... It all seems to be a little hazy.”  
  
“What was the last you remember?”  
  
“Dark Wings. Fever dreams of wolves and goats.”  
  
Elyssa dropped the mask like it sickened her. “Dark wings.. ??”  
  
“Flying on dark wings. It should mean something...”  
  
“Venturing to deep down into the shadows are we?”  
  
“I live in the shadows, Elly. You should know that by now. I cannot abide the sunlight for too long.”  
  
“I do know that... But this time you slipped. Are you getting old?” She can’t help but smile.  
  
Balorac chuckled. ”I feel old, that's for sure. But one the positive side: I unlocked memories of whom I really am. So that's a good thing I suppose.”  
  
Elyssas eyes widen a bit. “Is that so.. We see good in bad this time? Just some moments ago you pleaded me to take your pathetic life.”  
  
“Did I now?” He arched an eyebrow. “I must have been really out there then.” He paused and looked at her. “Do you want to know my true name?”  
  
“Your real name? You know now who you are?” She looked a bit skeptic.  
  
“My name is Culain McLir, of Clan McLir. Cu for short. Which is also the word for dog in my people's tongue. Funny, eh? I called myself Jackal, and my foster father who raised me in Brandoc called me Balorac, or Demon Wolf.”  
  
“Elyssa ... of the house of Aithne.. Nice to meet you.. Short.. Dog..” It glittered of amusement in her eyes.  
  
“Elyssa is the name of an angel.” Balorac smiled tiredly. “The house of Aithne only adds to that... The angel and the dog...  
  
“It stands for knowledge, ancient knowledge.”  
  
Balorac nodded. “Yeah, that's a bit more respectable than dog.”  
  
There was a slight hint of shame in her eyes. “Well…” She pushed his shoulder back. “We need you to get better. Do you still have family in these parts?”  
  
Balorac nodded. “I suppose... But where can I go? I bring death to those that take care of me.” He smiled sadly at her.”  
  
“By Crom, you’re in a dreadful mode....I will give you shelter if nobody else takes you in.. the Dun is deserted and in ruins.. But I still have people loyal to me.”  
  
“And you want to expose them to me?”  
  
“You have to be careful though... If whatever you bring with you harms any Fearghals....the spirits of the Dun will retaliate.”  
  
Balorac chuckled. “Want to test their faith, do you?”  
  
“It’s not the same place as before, my friend…” She smiled. “ The choice is yours.”  
  
Balorac seemed to give up and nodded at her. “Alright, don't worry. I will behave and yes, I will accept your kind offer. As soon as I can actually walk.”  
  
Elyssa chuckled. “Well my friend... with this winter and cold weather... I hope you heal fast.” The light inside the cave dimmed fast. “I have to tend to the fire, its dying.” She rose up. “I will be back shortly.”  
  
She came back carrying some damp wood and branches. They made a soft thump when they hit the ground next to the dying fire. Balorac turns his head slightly; watching her as she crouched down and rebuild the fire. “What else did you remember?” she asked with her focus on the fire. She did not see his smile as he watched her every move.  
  
“I remember when my memory was taken from me and by whom, but I don't think I am ready to share that yet... The same goes for some of the things I did after I came under her thrall...”  
  
Elyssa gave him a glance and shook her head. “Secrets dissolve and lose their impact on you in daylight.”  
  
“That may be but secrets are what little armor I have left, dear Elyssa. But I remember something about my Clan, and about Aonghas, our founder father. He was an adventurer, like that other Cimmerian who left his lands for fame and fortune...”  
  
Elyssa gave him a closer look. “My clan’s founders were not so much unlike yours.”  
  
“It's in the blood, Elly.” He smiled. “And it echoes in who we are you and me. Anyway, Aonghas was headless, an outcast, by choice. One day he came across something that compelled him to travel West, in search of our legacy.”  
  
Elyssa smiled to herself. “Sounds strangely familiar.”  
  
“Hmm, maybe more people did that, but he actually walked from the East into the Pict lands, gathering other headless as he walked until he came to an old fortress belonging to our forefathers. And with his Clan of headless, abandoned and lost he started a new beginning in hostile territory.”  
  
“Seeking strength in those outside other families.. Creating a home.” She smiled.  
  
“That sounds all too familiar, doesn't it? Well this next bit probably doesn't... I don't know what really happened, but out there in the West Aonghas's children unleashed something to defend themselves against the endless Pict hordes and they had to flee their lands...”  
  
“You told me about the bone woman…”  
  
“But whatever it is that they unleashed, it followed them." He paused and studied her with a surprised look. “Bone woman? Lemagrua is her real name. At least that is the name she calls herself, although her true name is probably older.”  
  
“You only mention the name Bone woman... And the sacrifice of children to her.” Despite the fire next to her, she shivered.  
  
Balorac nodded slowly. “She is linked to the Children of McLir and the terror that drove them from their lands.”  
  
“Water?” Elyssa held up a water skin.  
  
“Yes, please... “He held out his trembling hand. “Gods, I am feeble...”  
  
“I will cool you down with mountain water if I have to.” She leaned forward and checked his eyes. “Why did the evil thing drive the clan from its land?”  
  
“I think they unleashed something they couldn't control...”  
  
“Was it her.. Or something worse?”  
  
“People are inclined to do stupid things when facing overwhelming odds. And no, it was not her. It was... worse. It was what she wanted, I think. In any case, they fled the Pictish lands for the relative safety of Cimmeria. Only to find out that what they had unleashed had followed them.”  
  
“Her link to you is strong...” Elyssa said low.

Balorac gave Elly a pained look and swallowed. “So the children of Aonghas McLir disbanded, in a desperate attempt to break the curse.”  
  
“And her leach is tight...”  
  
“It is indeed...”  
  
Elyssa didn’t turn away and kept her eyes locked to his. He met her eyes and smiled. “You are wondering if she is still in there?” He tapped his cranium with his fingertip. “She is not.”  
  
“Prove it...” She said dryly. “After what I saw earlier.....something is in there.”  
  
“I had to travel through hell to get rid of her. Not that I can prove any of it, of course, for she could only prove me wrong and not the other way around. But I feel it, I know it...” He looked at her for a moment. Elyssa could not read what was going on in that thick head of his. “What did you see?” he asked.  
  
“A figure.. You, clad in a grotesque mask...with swirling darkness around you… I did not know it was you until i had slashed you and knocked the mask of your head.”  
  
“Well, I have memories of something else... I remember killing and maiming Vanir with my fangs and claws...”  
  
“Or shall I say knocked more sense into that thick head of yours...“ She muttered almost unbearably.  
  
“There is no sense thick enough to remain in this skull.”  
  
Elyssa snickered. “Good hearing, have to remember that.”  
  
Balorac nodded. “I can hear you heart beating as if I had my ear on your chest.”  
  
“Well…” She looked at him a bit uneasy.  
  
“And those birds outside of the cave are driving me nuts.” He continued. “I can also smell everything stronger than I remember. And my eyesight has gotten decidedly worse. I didn't even recognize you at first.”  
  
“At least I don’t smell that bad then...” She raised a brow.  
  
Balorac said softly without looking up. “You smell so good; it makes me nearly lose my mind... Elly. I just never smelled you like that before.”  
  
Her eyes widen and she could not help but blushed deep. “Don’t say things like that…”  
  
“Well, that is another thing... I seem to have lost certain... inhibitions... So not saying things like that is no longer an option.”  
  
“What???” Her heart raced a bit.  
  
“Elly, I... have changed... I have taken the aspect of a beast and I am not sure if it is a blessing or a curse. Perhaps both... or neither.”  
  
“Riddles....More riddles.”  
  
“Just the way you like it, I wager.” He smiled up at her.  
  
She chuckled and sat down a bit from him, clasping her hands round her knees.  
  
“But I know one thing... I see it with crystal clarity... I have to reunite the children of Aonghas McLir. That is my purpose, and I can defeat what it is that drove us from our lands.” His breath was a bit uneven.  
  
Elyssa smiled at his words. “That is a good goal. And here am I to find and help those Fearghal that are shattered over Cimmeria.”  
  
Balorac smiled. “Our fates seem to mirror each other. We seem to mirror each other...”  
  
“Life is complex... And it seems that our paths share the same destination... at least some of them...”  
  
Balorac nodded at her words. “I find that... comforting.”  
  
“I’m glad I can give you some comfort... Part from the slashing.” She motioned at his chest with a smile in the corner in her moth.  
  
“That was probably necessary too... and I am grateful it was you who did it, Elly. You know...” He looked down.  
  
“Anyone else might not have recognized you.... And stopped in time before you were dead... Or they were dead.” She said.  
  
“No, that's not what I mean...” He started to grin. ”You really stab like a girl, and I would have been in real trouble if somebody else had wielded that blade...” At the end he grinned wolfishly.  
  
“Stab like a girl??... And here I’m all nice to you...” She swatted him at the back of his head.  
  
Balorac rocked forward, laughing out loud, winced in pain, and leaned back, still laughing with tears streaming down his face. “You know I am grateful beyond what words can express.”  
  
“I show you who stabs like a girl... Grateful... My shiny arise…“ _Next time I won’t hesitate and you will be dead._ Telling her she was to week to wield the sword she used was not something she considered a compliment.  
  
Balorac shook his head. “You attacked something that must have been nightmarish and very deadly. You are totally fearless, Elyssa. Very few are that.”  
  
She tended to the fire and seemed immune to his sweet talk.  
  
“Stop badgering that fire or it will go out on you. The fire is fine... “He smiled softly. “ I am sorry if I upset you in any way.”  
  
She threw down the fragile small branch next to the fire and turned to face him. “You apologizing? I really must have hit your head.”  
  
“Yeah... I am not myself these days. But give me a few days and I am back to my charming self.” The grin on his face was even compelling. ” Wait and see...”  
  
Elyssa looked at him, searched his face for clues, under that horrid tattoo. “I should have put you down a long time ago... if this is the effect...” She chuckled.  
  
“Yeah, you really should have. I never understood why you didn't try to stop me before.” The grin was still there although his tone had changed.   
  
Elyssas half smile faded. “You were all too paranoid... secret paths to your lair... Bewitched armor and a quite powerful companion whom tried to have me consumed when I got to close…”  
  
“No... “ He shook his head. “It isn't that. There were opportunities before, but you couldn't bring yourself to plunge that knife into my neck. Even X'bloco would not have been able to stop you in some situations.”  
  
“You spared me....” She tilted her head.  
  
“Of course... I have feelings for you, Elyssa. Strong feelings, those are no good for either of us. But then again: I didn't have to stop you, and I am not sure you can say the same.” His voice was slowly getting slurry and more than once his eyes seem to fall shut for a moment.  
  
Elyssa opened her moth to say something, looked like she rethought the idea and then slowly bean to talk. “No, I never was a cold calculating murderer... And I’m not much for spying either.”  
  
“I know Elly. I... know... but... you... may... have... to... stop......... me................ soon......................”  
  
“No... Not this time… Damn you... not now” Elyssa crawled closer and managed to catch him as he slowly he fell on his back with his eyes closed. Luckily she fund him to be in a stable state and slept because of the physical exhaustion of the last few hours. His breathing was slow and steady, and he was quiet apart from the occasional growl.  
  
“You make everything so difficult....” She whispered revealed that he was only sleeping. “Difficult for me....” A quiet she chuckle escapes her lips and she loosened her mantle to pull over him, giving some warmth.  
  
There in the darkness with the fire dancing on the cave walls she leaned back on her heals, rubbing her face like it would give her some more clarity. _Strong feelings… In his world that could mean anything._ She sighed and reached for her pouches.


	9. Just another day Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little update on what's brewing up in the northern mountains. :)
> 
> The Settlement of Dinog in the Eiglophian mountains have experienced an increase in trade. Which have lead to making the daily life easier.
> 
> But life is not all good...
> 
> People whispers about seeing lights and fires near a cave deep in the mountain where an old cult once reside. A cult that was deep infested in their own tribe. The elder talks about a time when nobody was safe, not even within the settlements walls.
> 
> Have they come back... How can we protect ourselves?

She had counted it to thirty one, thirty one bodies if you excluded some non-matching body parts. Some was decaying fast, even in the cold. Others seemed to be of a later date, slain not so long ago. She wondered how long he had been in that cave, praying on stray Vanir warriors crossing his path. She threw the last body part she had found on the fire and squatted down looking at the pyre. The smoke had already raised high in the air, leaving its black taint on the snow clad trees close by. She had stripped most of her armour, leaving it back in the cave. For that she was glad now, she was up to her elbows in gore, blood and ash. When the flames grew higher she rose and walked closer, feeling the heat through the layers of her clothes.  
  
“Flood the path with light, turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to honour, to glory, to death.”  
  
It was with no joy she recited the prayer, but a part of her felt obligated. Even if she had no ties to the men that had been slain here, they could have been Cimmerians. Even people she might have known. In that case she hoped somebody would have given them a proper burial; a beacon of light into the next world.  
  
”Let your Soul take refuge and find the divine light to lead you home to the Halls of your Gods. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.”  
  
She moved out of the way for the smoke and stamped four times into the ground. “It is done.”  
  
She glanced back at the cave entrance and the large mask resting at the cave wall. It took just a split second for her to decide and she moved to fetch it. With a swift move she threw it onto the pyre where it landed slightly to its side. For a long moment it did not look as if the mask would burn, even though the heat. When it finally did catch fire it imploded, casting out black ash and thick grey smoke. Yet again she moved out of the smokes way and continued down to the stream. The snow crunched under her feet and she left grey footprints behind. The water was ice cold, but it was either that or having the smell of rotten flesh on her skin for days. Easy choice. The blood and gore was easily wiped away, but the stains from the ash stayed; like the stains had marked her skin. She continued to rub her hands and arms until she shivered with cold. With not so much a glance at the pyre she walked back into the mouth of the cave; back to the warmth of the camp fire.

It seemed that Balorac had woken up from his slumber and was not on in his best mood. Lying beside the small camp fire he groaned and cursed, his voice echoing against the cavern walls. Elyssa kneeled close to the fire and warmed her ice cold hands over the glowing coals. She took her time to get the fire going again; placing some dry wood on the coals and watched as the flames rose towards the cave´s ceiling. Her soft leather pants were dirty and stained. The skirt was even worse, black ash covered the one side from the waist up her neck.  
  
Balorac coughed and asked with a raspy voice. “How long did I sleep?”  
  
“The sun is high... Almost a full circle.” She was focused on the fire and did not look at him when she answered.  
  
“I suppose I needed the rest.” Balorac nodded slightly.  
  
“You seem better.”  
  
“I feel like something a dog ate...”  
  
Elyssa chuckled and she almost winked at him. “Well....You don’t look better. But you seem it. What is that hideous tattoo on your face?  
  
If she did not knew better she would say that Balorac almost seemed ashamed. “Thanks... That was part of a ritual... It will hopefully were off soon.”  
  
Elyssa took her time to look around the cave. The cavern walls in the dim light of the torches and the open fire all seem to have markings on them, of recent date.  
  
“I dreamt of the place... where I came from...” He continued with a lower voice.  
  
She gave him a glance, her features was a bit inscrutable.  
  
“The L world... pieces of land floating in space, torn asunder by being beyond our comprehension.”  
  
When she seemed satisfied with the fire, she sat a bit closer to him; pulling his mantle aside so she got a better look at his wounds.  
  
“I suppose I dreamt it all, but it was so vivid...” He looked at Elyssa, almost shyly, and winced as she touched the bandage.  
  
“Sometimes dreams are just dreams... Other times, Dreams can be so much more that we with our inferior minds can comprehend.” Her eyes did not leave the injury. The swelling had gone down and the edges around the wound were no longer crimson red. Yet he did yank away a bit when her fingertips gently touched his skin.  
  
“It seems to be working.” His eyes were following her.  
  
“I got the paste from a Stygian healer… A fierce old lady with some habits better left unsaid. Saved me a couple of times…” She smiled at him and carefully removed the last residues bandages.  
  
“Stygian?” He chuckled a bit and winced from the pain it caused. “I bet he used some Dark Lace for that. I heard that Shamans us it in so-called natural potions in Stygia.”  
  
“I bet she did. Seshafi is a sly one…” She grinned at him and let her fingers trail down his side searching for any sign of swelling.  
  
“She... of course.” He grinned. ” But it seems to work and that is the most important part. Thank you for taking care of me, even though you did carve me up to start with.”  
  
“This time you deserved it.” She looks at him and grinned back. “One time when she was in Cimmeria... I had to drag her from Conarch; just because she wanted human parts for her experiments and potions.” She shook her head and laughed at the memory.  
  
“Human parts? “ He did not seem to be able to wipe the grin of his face. ”I can see how that can be a problem. Cimmerians don't like the diseased loved ones cut up for alchemical experiments. They are a bit strange that way... We... are a bit strange that way. I sometimes forget my own heritage.”  
  
“Takes time to adjust, don’t it?”  
  
“I don't yet know what to adjust to.”  
  
Elyssa tilted her head and tried to brush of some of the smudges on her arms. “You find it out... I’m sure of it. You’re not the type who linger in the dark and are afraid to move forward.”  
  
Balorac nodded a bit and looked straight at her. “I suppose you are right. You know me better than is good for you.”  
  
“In that we do disagree... I don’t think I do know you that well.... you’re only not used to have someone close… that actually stayed.” Elyssa’s voice was very casual.  
  
Balorac snorted at her reply. “I had that once before and it nearly got me and her killed. But I am grateful for you company.”  
  
Elyssa sighed to herself. “Well then… I burnt the mask... And some other things that was in here.” She made a vide gesture around the camp fire.  
  
“Good. Although I am not sure if it was a mask and if it was good or bad that you did by burning it. Time will tell, I suppose.”  
  
“The ash don’t seem to be rubbing off.” She held up her smudged arm turning slightly so he could see that the stains continued over her back.  
  
Balorac chuckled. “I have a sneaking suspicion it is in essence that same stuff that's in the tattoo on my face. That means that it will go away in due time, but not soon I'm afraid.”  
  
“Well, there goes this shirt then.” She smiled and pulled theatrically in the hem.  
  
“I will get you a new one, as soon as...” He suddenly frowned. “As I get... a job...”  
  
Elyssa chuckled at his surprised expression, but could not stop herself from asking. “What happened to Blackthorn?  
  
“Yeah, laugh at poor Balorac... Blackthorn is fine without me, but Darshan wants me brought in 'for questioning' so I have to stay out of his clutches.”  
  
She looked him up and down with a too serious face, just a smile away from mocking him. “You should know by now that I laugh with you... Not at you... Would I still be here otherwise?” She gave him a slight friendly push on his shoulder.  
  
“Knowing him he will have found and confiscated most of my secret stashes, so I suppose I am... without coin.” Balorac smiled as she nearly pushed him over.  
  
“Darshan.... That is a new player on the board. Who is he?”  
  
Balorac shook his head. “No, an old one. He is a member of the Council, and up until recently he didn't get involved in worldly affairs.”  
  
“Council... You must have pissed him off real good.” There was a smirk in the corner of her mouth.  
  
“I did a little research into him, and it appears to me that the ****er has been around for a long while. And yes, I went against their will, at least against the will of some.”  
  
“Do you know how long?” There was a sudden eagerness in her voice. _Darshan is devoted to the Asura. If he has found IT, this might turn out to be a total new game._  
  
“It least one hundred years, but I suspect a lot more... If my suspicions are correct than Darshan Singh, or Mercurio Sinistra, or Sinjaya or whatever names he is known by, was there to see the waves swallow Atlantis. That last thing is conjecture, by the way.”  
  
_I need to find him, if he has what I’m searching for, he won’t give it to me lightly._ She dampened a cloth with something from a little yellow bottle. With some fuzz, she managed to get it inside the bandage, close to his skin.  
  
Balorac shouted and cursed. “Crom's balls!”  
  
“There there… It stings in the beginning and then it will numb the wound.” She made sure he did not see her face.  
  
Footsteps closed in on them and the shadow of a man appeared close to the fire. He stopped and looked over the two on the cavern floor. “What’s ya doin in here eh?” He smelled of horse and night, cool and pungent.  
  
Balorac glanced at the man. ” I am lying here, enjoying the scenery while a beautiful young woman tortures me. What's your excuse for being here?”  
  
Elyssa turned to the newcomer and said impartially.  
  
“Taking care of a wounded man.” She leaned closer to Balorac and swatted his head friendly. “That’s for the so called torture.” She added a bit lower.  
  
“Hunting...Vanir trough the valley...Who are ya?” The man asked.  
  
“I am Ba... I am Culain. And you?”  
  
“Im Manikan the eagle....and why are you lying?”  
  
Elyssa turned to the newcomer again. “My name is Lady Elyssa of the Fearghal Clan.”  
  
Balorac grinned at Elyssa when he answered Manikans first question. “I was tracking the beast that was killing those Vanir, when I came across...  
  
“He had a slight accident with a sharp sword.” Elyssa said dryly.  
  
“Liar? You call me a liar, Manikan the Eagle? Would you for me to clip your wings?” Balorac growled and tried to get up. His attempts got cut short by Elyssas firm hands shoving him back down on the pelts. He shot her an irritated look.  
  
“Hey wait....you’re a Fearghal?” There was a surprised tone in Manikan´s voice.  
  
Elyssa rose and turned to Manikan.  
  
“You don’t scare me.” Manikan took a step closer.  
  
“That's just because you don't know me, my fearless friend.” Balorac stated. He looked almost bored over the turn the conversation had taken.  
  
“Yes... I am of the Fearghal Clan and he is only trying to provoke you...” Elyssa tilted her head towards Balorac.  
  
“I aint fearless....we all have fears. I´m Koragg.”  
  
“Greetings then.” Elyssa said.  
  
“Greetings.” Manikan answered with a short nod. His eyes did not stray from Balorac where he lay on the floor.  
  
“Koragg.” Balorac harrumphed. “I thought as much. A lot of brawn, little brain.”  
  
Elyssa had to bite her tongue… hard. _For once this is something we agree in._  
  
The remark hit a nerve and Manikan growled. “Shut up...or I shall slit your throat.”  
  
“You will try and you will die trying.” Balorac grinned wolfishly. “But I will no longer tease you, my young friend.”  
  
Manikan smiled an evil smile. “I don’t fear death...wounded little friend.” He stressed the word little, in a quite insulting way.  
  
Balorac smacked his lip. “You have balls, I admit that. So I am letting you get away with it... Well met, Manikan of Clan Koragg.”  
  
“And well met to you.” Manikin said dryly.  
Balorac grinned. “And yes, you spotted well that I am wounded.”  
  
“Yeah.....what have been up to? Manikan asked.  
  
“I have been hunting for a beast that was giving the Vanir nightmares and this beautiful lady here came to my rescue.” Balorac looked up at Elyssa with a sly smile.

“Why where you hunting something the Vanir fears?” Manikan asked and folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t seem convinced.  
  
“Same reason I came here. To root out the evil.” Elyssa said.  
  
Balorac nodded in agreement with Elyssa. “Because in my experience, beasts like that like to roam and it would have wandered into your lands soon enough.”  
  
“True....but we have the Vanir on the run...there are not many with the balls to stay in the valley now a days.” Manikan said.  
  
“Once it takes hold... It will be more difficult to deal with.” It sounded as she would go on, but instead she looked at Manikan quite doubtful. “You say you would rather have the beast here?”   
  
“And I might add, I have seen this shadow creature and encountering it would be no laughing matter. Particularly not, if you are a young woman getting water at the river, or an old man looking for herbs.” Balorac added.  
  
“Hm still...were close to winning the war.” Manikan said.  
  
Balorac looked from Elyssa to Manikan and shook his head. “I believe we are talking about two different things, but I find it encouraging that the brave Koragg warriors are having the evil Vanir on the run.”  
  
“We are...haven't you heard?.....We drove many back to the field of death.” Manikan closed his fist in-front of him, visibly showing how pleased this effort made him.   
  
Elyssa said low. “This is Cimmeria. Nobody is winning the war. It just moves on to another place, only to return a few years later.  
  
“Hmm, I have been away for a bit.” Balorac winked at Elyssa and continued. “So I am not aware of the current power balance. Pardon my ignorance.”  
  
“This is Cimmeria...We are Cimmerians we shall win in the end!” Manikan stated proudly.  
  
Balorac chuckled. “Yeah, there will always be a Cimmerian on the victorious side. Regretfully there will most likely also be a Cimmerian on the losing side, for that is our way.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Manikan asked.  
  
“If we don't have Picts or Vanir the kill, we start bashing our own heads in; in my experience at least.” Balorac explained.  
  
“True....but i rather kill the Vanir to make my land safe and then take care of the other enemies.”   
  
Elyssa gave Balorac a warm smile.  
  
“You are absolutely right, my young friend, but my statement still holds als you will find out.” Balorac returned Elyssa's smile.  
  
“If we lose...every Cimmerian will die....then rather win and then fight the other clans...we will survive that way.” Manikan returned.  
  
“Cimmerians have difficult to remain peace among them selfs and are only united when an outside force are pressing them down.” Elyssa wiped her chin with must have been the only clean part of her shirt. “I’m not arguing with that. Your fight is noble.”  
  
“Your? Aint you a Cimmerian?” Manikan looked a bit puzzled. Elyssa did not answered him.  
  
“I think our argument goes in circles and we are basically all right. That is the tragic part.” Balorac leaned back a bit where he lay and stretched his neck. “Cimmerian fight to be able to defeat his enemies, but he has to keep fighting to keep his skill up.”  
  
“Yes....” Manikan pulled down his hood and relieved a face not yet marked by age. Elyssa pondered if he even was over 20 summers.   
  
Balorac sniffed the air and eyed Manikan up and down. “You know that wolfmeat is not good for you.”  
  
Elyssa put down a little bag she had tied to her belt, a jingling sound was heard when it touched the ground.  
  
“What do you mean?” Manikan asked a bit guarded.  
  
“You ate wolf this morning, didn't you?” It was not a question, more of a statement.  
  
Elyssa gave Balorac a surprised look.   
  
“Yeah...how did you know?”  
  
“Are you kidding me? I can smell it from a mile away, and I can tell you it is not a pleasant smell.”  
  
“Wolf is good.”  
  
Balorac shook his head. “Only a desperate man would eat the meat from a predator. I would not do it too often, if I were you.”  
  
“I live as a predator...why shouldn't I eat another?”  
  
“Have you ever seen a wolf eat a fox? Or an eagle eats a hawk?” Balorac asked.  
  
“I´ve seen wolves eat a fox...but not an eagle eats a hawk.” Manikan tried to follow what Balorac meant.  
  
“That must have been a sick wolf, because normally they will not do that for good reasons.” Balorac said dryly.  
  
“Wolfmeat tastes good...and it’s easy to get aswell.”   
  
Balorac shrugged. “Suits yourself. I prefer to eat that what a predator eats, to be honest.”  
  
“I prefer to eat what I can get.”  
  
“I suppose there is some truth to that.”   
  
“So what kind of monster where you hunting?” Manikin asked curiously.   
  
“The sort that did that... “Balorac pointed at bloodied claw marks that seem to litter the cavern walls, making strange shapes.  
  
“The villagers told me about a place where they did not dare to go anymore... That was evil and faul.“ She held out her hands with her palms up and made a sweeping gesture.   
  
“Oh....that one. ”Manikan smiled widely. “The giant spider monster ha?”  
  
“No…”  
  
“I was expecting a bearwolf, as they are called in Brandoc, but this was something quite different.” Balorac scratched his chin and wiped his fingers clean on his shirt.  
  
“A bit more faul and dangerous. We manage to still it for this time... But it might come back…” Elyssa looked at Balorac with a question in her eyes that Balorac bluntly ignored.   
  
“I can help track it down....many foul things has fallen under my blade.” Manikan pounded his chest proudly whilst he spoke.  
  
“Lad, this 'thing' tossed me through the cavern like a wolf would a rabbit.”  
  
“Ah..it doesn't sound that scary no offence.”  
  
“None taken. You weren't here and sometimes ignorance is bliss.”  
  
“So lets go for a hunt....I could use the corpse...would give great coins!”  
  
“No offence, but I have to decline on his behalf.” Elyssa pointed at Balorac.  
  
Balorac shrugged. “I will not face that creature again in my current state, if I can avoid it... There were corpses of over twenty Vanir littered around in the cavern and I know what this thing is capable off.”  
  
“With my help we can take it down...”  
  
_31 mangled corpses_, Elyssa thought to herself. “He sounds alright, but he won’t be able to mount a horse.”  
  
Balorac turned slightly towards Elyssa. “Elyssa, you saw it... Is there any advice you can give the lad?”  
  
“I don't have a horse...we walk...like I always do.”  
  
Balorac slowly rose to his feet. He had to lean heavily on the stick he found nearby to even get back up.  
  
Elyssa pondered a bit. “What you see is not always true. The creature can change form and are fast. You might need to set a trap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Balorac - "Is there anybody out there?" Ladies and gentlefolk,
> 
> I have decided to give Age of Conan another try, and I am particularly looking forward to some RP.
> 
> In any case... Balorac is back!
> 
> Galadh - Most welcome back you old RP soup cooking machine! 
> 
> Elyssa - *Tackles* Welcome back, it was about time for a classic comeback, epic style! You have surely been missed. The streets are no longer safe and I'm sure looking forward to the RP :)
> 
> Treizi - Just dropping in to say hi to some of old Aqualonia's greatest RP'ers  
Nice to see you are active withe the RP there ...hihi...Good luck with the Plot Balorac and a special hug to Ely *hugs* *switches Galadh's hammer to a rubber one*
> 
> Elyssa - Miss you here on Fury, Treizi. Don´t forget to pay us a visit from time to time. *hugs back and refuses to let go*
> 
> Balocac - Hey Elly and Treizi, How wonderful to hear from you! Aquilonian RP was great and I hope I get a chance to experience some more of that with some old friends. See y'all soon! *big Evul Overlord hug* B.

**Author's Note:**

> Is cumhacht í an eolas - Knowledge is power


End file.
